Angry Birds Space blasts off with NASA and Nat Geo in tow

If you've been itching to get your hands on some zero gravity avian destruction, you won't have too long to wait. Angry Birds Space is scheduled for release on all mobile platforms on March 22nd, but The Guardian reports that it won't be just mindless fun: the game will include content from both the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and National Geographic, with the aim of educating you while you annoy everyone around you with sounds of chirping, snorting and crashing timber.

"Science and education are very important to us," said Rovio's North American gneral manager Andrew Stalbow. "we're very excited to have NASA and National Geographic as launch partners on Angry Birds Space." The new game is a completely different title from the original, making it a sequel instead of the various updates and Season expansions so far. It will include new gameplay elements that use zero gravity and other physics as a condition of completing the levels. This seems like a prime opportunity for some space-based education.

There still hasn't been any official screenshots or game footage from Angry Birds Space - as Rovio's primary money-maker and licensing property, they're keeping this one locked down tight. But odds are pretty good that they'll either keep their free-to-play model on Android or keep the price at least as low as its iOS counterpart. You can check the teaser website for updates. Personally, I'm hoping for a Xenomorph bird option: in the silence of space, no one can hear you squawk.